#SundaySupper: Regional Specialties

I couldn’t resist this perfectly themed Sunday Supper event! We just moved to California and have a whole new culinary world open to us. I knew I had to participate in today’s event hosted by Sue of A Palatable Pastime.While we were house hunting, and then waiting for move-in day, we were staying in temporary housing about a half an hour away (without traffic – ha!) from where we want to live. Our little room has been like living in a tiny house, except that the bed isn’t a loft space. The kitchen has all the essentials: stove/oven, microwave, coffee pot, fridge with freezer. There are even some dishes for our use: pots and pans, cutting board, knife set, plates/bowls, etc.

You can’t get in the car without seeing a donut shop or a burger joint, but those options weren’t easily feasible given my current kitchen situation. I wasn’t about to deep fry some donuts or fry up some juicy burgers in a small space where a warning that the fire alarm is very sensitive predominantly posted above the sink.

Southern California is predominantly known for Mexican food and avocados. So, I decided to make tacos for today’s event. My husband requested fish tacos, so that’s what I did. I’m glad too because it felt nice to eat fresh, homemade food after a week long road trip and countless meals eaten out. I was nervous about cooking fish in such a small space, but I was happily surprised that there wasn’t any odor from cooking fresh fish in the microwave. Seriously, who knew!? The fish was flaky, tender, and juicy, too. Dare I say my best fish yet? Although, some salt would’ve been nice. I’ve always taken salt for granted that I didn’t think to purchase any on my grocery trip. Oh well.

I didn’t have a container large enough to make the full pound of fish I purchased so I made half of it one night for dinner as a trial run. I prepared the dish again for lunch the following day to take advantage of the Southern California sunlight!

I set up my food styling on a pizza pan and used the fresh produce to give some life to my taco display. I had to place the dish on the floor outside our room, but I think it turned out great. I’m looking forward to seeing an improvement in my photography skills while we’re in Cali for the next 2-4 years!

The knives available to me are horrendous. I can flex the blades with my hands making it near impossible to cut anything, if you look closely you can see the grooves the knife left on the avocado slices! But, I powered through and was impressed with how well I could shave the onion (because the knife couldn’t actually go through the vegetable).

This recipe serves two.

Cali Inspired Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

juice 1 lime, plus more for serving

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp corriander

1/2 lb fresh white fish

4 fajita-sized tortillas (I used a corn-wheat blend)

cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots – no dressing)

thinly slice red onion

fresh cilantro

avocado, sliced

Steps:

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, and corriander. Season to taste with S+P.

Place fish in a microwave safe dish. Pour marinade over the fish, flip to coat. Refrigerate for 25-30 minutes.

I was not able to participate in this week’s Sunday Supper, but following your blog, I saw your recipe for California cuisine! I lived in So. California in Orange County (Fullerton, CA to be exact) for over 5 years in the 80’s. Fell in love with the cuisine and especially love the recipe for fish tacos that you have kindly shared! I can never get enough of the diverse ways to prepare fish tacos!